I demonstrated a new method of resolving melee to Jeff Wiltrout the other day. I set up an ancients game with my 25mm figures. I defined a "division" of troops as a block of 6 stands, aligned with three stands in the front rank, and three in the rear. These divisions were composed solely of medium and heavy stands, and this applied to both infantry and cavalry. The lighter troops, foot archers and mounted javelineers, were independent of the main body, and these single stand units could zip around the table, with their main function to harass the larger division-size units. Both Jeff and I possessed three infantry divisions and one of cavalry, a total of four of the heavier units, plus a small assortment of foot archers and mounted javelineers. When it was our turn to move, we tossed dice and found out how many of our divisions could advance (from a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 4 of them), and how many of our lighter units were activated. What was so radically new about the game? as I said, ‘twas the melee procedure. When two units closed to contact, we had 2 rounds of combat. (a) In the first round, only the front rank of 3 stands added its combat points to inflict damage to the opposing division. Casualties, if any, were taken from the front rank stands. Two hits knocked out a stand. (b) In the second round, all stands contributed combat points... the remaining front rank stands, and the second rank stands. Med Med Med Hvy Hvy Hvy In the above diagram of a division, assume the medium stands are in the front rank. i.e., the enemy is toward the top of the page. In combat, each stand tosses a 10-sided die, with the following result for the first combat round: Front rank medium stands a toss of 1, 2, or 3 causes a casualty Second rank heavy stands they don’t participate at all. Now we come to the second round of combat, in which all stands participate: Front rank medium stands they’re now slightly exhausted, hence only a 1, or a 2 is a hit Second rank heavies they’re fresh and join in with a huge 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 causing a hit Now suppose the unit is reformed with the heavy stands in the front rank. Again, the opposition is at the top of the page. Hvy Hvy Hvy Med Med Med In the first round of combat, only the front rank contributes points. Front rank heavy stands a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 causes a hit Second rank mediums they don’t participate In the second round, all join in Front rank heavies they’re now slightly exhausted, and a 1, 2, 3 causes a hit Second rank mediums they’re fresh and hit with a roll of 1, 2, 3, or 4 Now comes the tactical decision concerning the issue of how to line up the division stands. Remember that 2 hits removes one stand in the front rank. (a) Placing the mediums in the front rank gives them an initial 1,2 or 3 for the first round, and a puny 1, 2 for the second round. But it gives the fresh heavies a huge 1,2,3,4,5,6 for the second round. (b) Placing the heavies in the front rank gives them a whopping 1,2,3,4,5 for the first round and a slightly exhausted 1,2,3 for the second round. And it gives the fresh mediums a substantial 1,2,3,4 for the second round. But the kicker is that casualties always come from the front rank, so that if you want the heavies in the front rank because of the more significant and larger dice tosses as in Case (b), you’ll lose them fairly rapidly. It would appear obvious that Case (b) gives you a bigger punch, but it also depletes your strength of heavy stands rapidly. Which means that when a unit enters melee for a second time, it is sorely disadvantaged. Tossed into the rules was a provision at the end of the bound for obtaining reinforcement stands for divisions down in strength (less than 6 stands), but this didn’t help too much. Jeff and I set out our divisions as we wished... some had only medium stands in the front rank, some had only heavy. By monitoring the melee outcomes, I was hoping to get some sort of indication concerning which of the two formations (heavies in front, or heavies in back) would provide a more optimum situation. Alas! I got no data at all, except for the fact that I think I won only a single melee out of around a dozen or so, due to lousy dice tosses on my part. Whether or not I had my heavies in the front or in the rear didn’t seem to matter. And whether or not Jeff had his own big guys in the front or rear was inconsequential. Each 2 hits inflicted on my divisions caused one stand to disappear... and there were lots of hits. Losing a melee also meant that the surviving stands retreated 10 inches, and it didn’t take long for Jeff to drive most of my divisions off the table. So much for my scientific survey. So much for my data collection. Back to PW Review May 2001 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 Wally Simon This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com